Rail-joint.



1.1. OBRIEN & .l. P. WAGGONEH.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3. 1916.

1,205,253, Patented Nov. 21, 1916..

2 SHEHS-SHEET I.

1 JO/ZILJQBT'L WQ WWO J 1.]. OBRIEN J. P. WAG GONER.

R A l L J 0 N T.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3- 153K6- 1,205,253, Patented Nov. 21, 1916. 2SHEETS 2.

lwagm unrrnn s'rn'rn's re'rn JOHN J'. OBRIEN AND JOHN P. WAGGONER, 0FROANOKE, VIRGINIA.

RAIL-JOINT.

' Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that we, JOHN. J. OBRIEN and JOHN P. WAGGONER, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Roanoke, in the county of Roanoke andState ofVirginia, have invented new and useful Improvements inRailJoints, of which the following is a specification. V

This invention relates to improvements in means for connecting themeeting ends of railway rails.

In carrying out our invention it is our purpose to provide meansarranged upon and connected with the angle joint bars for the rails andunderlying the rails at the meeting edges thereof whereby the rails maybe adjusted vertically to maintain the same in proper and in positivealinement.

It is also our purpose to provide angle bars which are reinforced andstrengthened at the central portion thereof, the said central portionsbeing subjected to the greatest amount of strain incident to the jar andshock to which they are subjected when the wheels of the rolling stockpass over the ends of the rails and thus materially add to the life ofthe rails and the safety of the joint. I

A still further object of the invention is to provide an angle joint barwith centrally arranged depending lugs which'will have a tendency toreinforce the rails and which also serve as seats for adjustable wedgeplates that underlie and contact with the base of the rails at themeeting edges thereof and whereby the ends of the rails may bevertically adjusted and held in such adjustment. 7

It is a still further object of the invention to provide the angle barsat the joint of a rail with depending lugs having openings to receivewedge plates one of which overlies the other, and the said wedge platesbeing arranged to support the ends of the rails, to provide means uponone of the plates which co-acts with the other plate for adjusting theplates. longitudinally and locking the same in such adjustment, and tofurther provide means for locking the plates together.

With these and other objects in view, the lmprovement resides in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts set forth in thefollowing specification and falling within the scope ofthe appendedclaims.

In the drawings: Figure l is a top plan view of two rails connected inaccordance with the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of thesame, Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view approximately on the line3-3 of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a perspective View of one. of the wedge plates,Fig. 5 is a similar view of the other wedge plate, Fig. 6 is aperspective view illustrating an ordinary angle bar provided with acentral reinforcing and wedge plate supporting lug, and Fig. 7 is aperspective view of the lug detached.

In the drawings the rails are designated by the characters R, and theangle bars by the numerals 1. Both of the angle bars are of similarconstruction and are connected to the rails by the usual nuts and boltstherefor. The central connecting nuts and bolts are received in pockets2 provided at the outer surfaces of the angle bars by centralreinforcing ribs 3 and end ribs 4 spaced a suitable distace from thecentral ribs 3. These ribs, as illustrated in the drawings, are formedwith both the vertical and horizontal plates of the angle bars and theribs are provided only at the central portion for the reason that fromexperience it has been foundthat the ordinary angle bars are mostsusceptible to breakage at the central portion thereof which. isincident to the violent shock to which they are subjected by the wheelsof the rolling stock passing over one of the rails onto the other rail.The horizontal members of the angle bars 1 below the reinforcing ribs 3and 4 are provided each with a depending lug 5, and each of said lugs iscentrally formed with a substantially rectangular opening 6.

The numerals 7 and 8 designate truss plates which are adapted to restone upon the other and which have their contacting faces beveled. Thusit will be noted that each of the plates 7 and 8 is in the nature ofawedge. The plate 7 has its thickened end provided with a downturnedflange 9 and the plate 8 has both of its ends provided with down turnedflanges, indicated by the numerals 10 and 11 respectively. The openings6 are sufficient to admit of the insertion of the plate. 8 therethroughso that the flanges 10 and 11 lie against the outer faces of the lugs ofthe respective angle bars-l. Thereafter the plate 7 is inserted throughthe opening 6, its flange 9 bemg disposed adjacent the flange of theplate 8. The flange 9 has an opening 12 w1th1n which is arranged aheadless bolt 13, one end of the bolt being received in a threadeddepression or pocket 1 1 in the outer face of the flange 10 of the plate3, while nuts and 16 respectively are threaded upon the bolt 13 and arearranged to contact with the opposite faces of the flange 9.

By adjusting the nuts 15 and 16 it will be noted that the plate 7 may bemoved longitudinally in either direction over the plate 8 andas aconsequence adjust the meeting ends of the rails RR in a vertical direction, so that the heads of the rails Wlll be maintained in positivealinement. The nut 15 may be first adjusted upon the bolt 13, and thenut 16 screwed upon the said bolt 13 in a homeward direction, causingthe said nut 16 to contact with the outer face of the flange 9, whichmovement of the said nut will force the plate 7 over the plate 8, themovement of the plate 7 in this direction being limited by the contactof the inner face of the flange 9 with the nut 15. It will be apparentthat the plate 7 may be adjusted in an opposite direction by firstloosening the nut 16 and then screwing the nut 15 against the inner faceof the flange 9 untll the outer face of the flange 9 is brought intoengagement with the nut 16.

The flange 11 of the plate 8 is provided with a central recess 17, andthe plate 7 is provided with an elongated opening 18 which is arrangedto communicate with the recess 17 and also to receive a wedge key 19.The key when inserted through the opening 18 is re'ceivedin thedepression 17 of the plate 8 and will of course contact with one of thewalls provided by the opening 18 of the plate 7, and the lower andreduced ,end of the same may be bent to contact with-the edge of theflange 11 or if desired the wedge 7 key 19 may be provided with aplurality of spaced transverse openings 20 whereby a securing element,in the nature of a cotter pin or the like may be passed to lock thewedge key in its properly adjusted position and to permit ofthewithdrawal of the wedge key when it should be found desirable-toseparate the plates 7 and 8 from the angle bars.

In Fig. 6 we have illustrated an ordinary angle bar which is indicatedby the numeral 21 and which has centrally secured to the horizontalflange thereof the angular or horizontal portion 22 of a lug member 23,the vertical portion of the said lug member depending below the anglebar and the same is centrally provided with a substantially or the likeand that the lug will materially reinforce the said angle bar at thecentral portion thereof as well as accommodate truss members in thenature of wedge plates similar to. the wedgeplates 7 and 8.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the simplicity of the device, aswell as the advantagesthereof, will, it is thought, be perfectly apparent to those. skilled inthe art to which such invention appertainswithout further detaileddescription.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim is: i V I 1. In ameans for connecting the meeting ends of rails, angle bars upon theopposite sides of the rails and connected therewith,

reinforcing ribs connecting the horizontal and vertical flanges of'theangle bars at'the central portions thereof and surrounding the centralconnecting means for the angle bars, wedge plates associated with theangle bars and underlylngthe rails, means for ad justing the 'wedgeplates, and means for locking the adjusted wedge plates.

2. In a means for connecting the meeting ends of rails, angle bars, lugmembers secured to the angle bars and depending centrally therefrom,wedge plates one overlying the other and passing through centralopenings in the lugs disposed to engage with the flanges of the rails atthe meeting ends thereof, 'means upon one of the wedgeplates co-actingwith the other wedge plate for adjusting the wedge plates, and aremovable key for locking the adjusted plates.

3; In a means for connecting the meeting ends of rails, angle bars uponthe opposite sides of the rails and connected with the rails, each ofsaid angle bars having a central depending lug, a truss membercomprising two lapping wedge plates passing through openings in the lugsandsupporting the rails at the meeting ends thereof, the upper wedgeplate havingits thickend;

formed with .a depending-flange, the lower wedge plate having both ofits ends provided with dependingflanges which are disposed .to contactwith the outer faces of the opposite lugs, ,a headless bolt passingthrough an opening in the flange of the upper wedge plateand havlngoneofits ends received in a threaded pocket in one'of the flanges of thelower Wedge plate, nut mem- In testimony whereof we aifix our signabersupon this bolt and contacting With the tures in presence of twoWitnesses. opposite sides of the flange of the upper JOHN J. OBRIEN.Wedge plate, a Wedge key passlng through an opening in the upper Wedgeplate and re- JOHN WAGGONER ceived in a depression in the second flangeWitnesses: of the lower Wedge plate, and means for LAWRENCE S. DAVIS,locking the said Wedge key upon the plates. Mrs. EARL G. SHERERTY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Pat ents, Washington, I). G.

